Pietro and Kitty
by Lyra Silvertongue2
Summary: This is a fic in which your input counts! The title is still under consideration, so get in your ideas now. Guess who the story's about. ^_^ Pietro is actually nice to Kitty, so she investigates. Four's up!
1. Couple Contest

All right, here's the deal: I wanted to do an interactive fic without all the new characters to deal with, and I saw a coupla people who had a rather ingenious idea - get people to *vote* for what they wanted to read. Well, I think this could be such a funny thing if I did this, so here it is: There are going to be two lists of characters (one male and one female - as much as I enjoy reading the cutesy-bootsy slash-fics, I couldn't imagine writing one), all teenage ones, of course, and just the ones that I know (so Colossus and Pyro are out). Anyone who wants to can vote (and I hope lots of people do, thus randomizing it) for the couple that they like the most. The most popular male character voted for and the female character who gets the most votes - they will make up the coupling for this story. Some of the new mutants I don't know as well, so if you feel I should know anything about them before I begin, please feel free to tell me. I know I'm taking a complete gamble here, but I thought it was about time I did something risky, so...vote away! :D  
  
The Guys:  
  
1. Scott Summers (Cyclops) 2. Todd Tolensky (Toad) 3. Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler) 4. Lance Alvers (Avalanche) 5. Evan Daniels (Spyke) 6. Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver) 7. Fred Dukes (The Blob) 8. Ray Crisp (Berzerker) 9. Samuel Guthrie (Cannonball - need more info if I'm to do this one) 10. Roberto Da Costa (Sunspot - gotta get the scoop on him, too) 11. Bobby Drake (Iceman - personality? I don't know much, except that he likes mischief) 12. Remy Labeau (Gambit)  
  
The Girls:  
  
1. Jean Gray (The woman with no codename) 2. Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) 3. Marie a.k.a. Rogue 4. Tabitha Smith (Boom-Boom) 5. Rahne Sinclair (Wolfsbane) 6. Jubilation Lee (Jubilee - I have very little information on this character) 7. Amara Aquilla (Magma - this one, too)  
  
Well, no *wonder* people are always making up female characters to pair up with their favorite guy from the show! Just *look* at the amount of gals there are! We should start a revolt...well, not really (hee-hee-hee...the girls get their choice of men). Yes, I left out Jamie, I'm well aware. He's too young for a romance, and that's what I'm to be doing, right? Now, if I left anyone else out, which I'm liable to do, since I'm forgetful - just tell me, and I'll put 'em up right away, as well as counting your vote toward them. The voting will end when I feel that there have been enough votes. Now: VOTE! :D 


	2. Results and Title Contest

All right! An overwhelming response. That's what I'm talkin' about! Okay, here are the results. This romance will be about:  
  
Pietro and Kitty.  
  
Hey, it wasn't my choice, it was yours. Pietro came out above the other guys with six votes, and Kitty had eight votes (only one above Rogue). If you really want to know and don't feel like counting, here are the other votes:  
  
Ray - one. Evan - one. Lance - three. Scott - four. Bobby - one. Kurt - three. Todd - one. Remy - four. Jubilee - two. Jean - four. Rahne - one. Rogue - seven. Amara -one.  
  
Huzzah! Those were the votes. I'm so happy all of you voted!  
  
Okay, next thing I'll be needing from you: a title for this Kietro story. I'm *terrible* at titles, and I'm the first one to admit it. So, if you could help me with the title it would be great. Consider it a contest. After all, only one or two titles can win (you never know, I might combine two of 'em). Let's see those titles, folks! :D 


	3. Chapter One: Pietro was *nice*?

All right, the title contest will continue, but for now, I'm putting up the first chapter. Before I start, I just want to let you all know that this is, of course, an AU, and as it's *my* little Alternate Universe, there will be some minor discrepancies from the show, and from other people's fics. For instance, the fact that this takes place just before _The Hex Factor_ would be a discrepancy. Thanks for reading this note, and enjoy the story! :D  
  
P.S. I've had an idea to maybe put little "contests" at the end of some chapters, so be on the lookout for them in the notes at the beginning and end of each chapter.  
  
***  
  
Rogue was glowering. That test that morning had *not* gone well, and a very impressive scowl was on her face as a result of it. Not that anybody noticed, anyway, since Rogue was usually glowering. That just made Rogue glower even more. No one appreciated her skill at glowering. Her scowl deepened even further until she was distracted by some unusual activity across the table. She let her scowl slip as she watched her friend Kitty do something rather bizarre: she was looking, but pretending *not* to look, at the Brotherhood table. This was so unusual that Rogue felt compelled to investigate.  
  
Not disturbing anyone else's conversations as she did, Rogue walked around the table and slid smoothly into the seat next to her roommate. "Whatcha lookin' at?" Rogue inquired.  
  
Kitty startled, shocked out of her reverie of sneaking peeks at the Brotherhood table and not eating her food. "Uh, nothing, I mean, like...Pietro," she admitted.  
  
"I see. May I ask why?"   
  
"Go ahead," Kitty said, mildly amused.  
  
Rogue got the joke, nodded a little without cracking a smile, and went with it. "Why?"  
  
"Well, like, something happened this morning..."  
  
"Yeah?" Rogue prompted, her interest peaked.  
  
"Well, it, like, all started when I was..."  
  
  
***  
  
Flashback to that morning  
  
***  
  
"Oh, man, I'm, like, gonna be late," Kitty said worriedly to herself. She had had some trouble getting into school early that morning, what with Kurt bugging her, and all the bathrooms taken, and the little things about mornings that tended to add up. Checking a timepiece that she kept in her pocket, she realized she had less than three minutes to get to class. Picking up the pace a little bit, she made a beeline for her locker, only to suddenly -  
  
Whoomph!  
  
- crash into Quicksilver, who was heading top speed in the opposite direction.  
  
"Hey,watchwhereyou'regoing,youcouldhurtsomebody - Oh. Sorry, Kitty." (Author's note: from now on, Pietro-speak will be normally spaced. And, yes, he did slow down when he realized it was Kitty. Thank you for your cooperation.) Kitty's backpack had cushioned her fall, but she was still a little jarred. She watched with wide eyes as Pietro reached down a hand to help her up. She accepted it without even thinking about it, and he pulled her to her feet, asking "Are you okay?"  
  
Instantly she noticed the blush that was creeping across his face. Nodding, she felt her own face heating up. _Damn hormones,_ Kitty thought, her mind too much of a blank to think anything else. "Yeah. I'm, like, fine."  
  
"Uh, well, sorry about that, I guess I wasn't looking where I was going," he said, brushing the dust off of her with care. It was only then that Kitty realized how slowly he was speaking compared to his normal pace. "Well, if you're okay, I'll just be..." She nodded again, and he sped off, faster than usual, still blushing. Kitty just watched him go, a puzzled expression on her face.   
  
***  
  
End flashback (Author's Note: Whee! Flashbacks in the first chapter!)  
  
***  
  
"Hm," Rogue said, thinking. "Well, that *is* odd." She paused. "You want my advice?"  
  
"Like, yeah!" Kitty focused all her attention on Rogue, her lunch long since forgotten.  
  
"Gather more info before you rush into anything," Rogue advised, looking down at Kitty. It was obvious what she was implying.  
  
"'Rush into' - Rogue, I don't want to go out with him! Geez!" Kitty flushed a deep scarlet, and she fought to keep up eye contact with her friend. "I just want to - find out what he's all about, you know?"  
  
"Ah, I see. You want to spy on him."  
  
"Well, yeah. No! No, I don't want to spy on him!" She made it sound so awful. Kitty was beginning to regret having started this conversation until she saw the mischievous glint in Rogue's eye. "I mean," she said conspiratorially, "yeah, I wanna spy on 'im."  
  
"Well, then, the first thing you've gotta do is gather information on 'im through his friends. Or people who know him."  
  
"Okay," Kitty replied. Then, without pausing, "So what do you know about him?"  
  
Rogue blinked in surprise, then said with a little distaste: "Me?"  
  
"Yeah, you, like, lived with him for a little bit when you were in the Brotherhood, right?" Rogue, regaining her bearings in the conversation, nodded slightly and shifted her position in her seat. "So, like, of what you've seen, what's he like?"  
  
She actually gave it some careful thought. "Well...what I've seen is very much like what you've seen. I mean, he's very loud, and, well, obnoxious, but...well, he doesn't exactly hand out information about his personal life, does he? There's always the bragging about his 'conquests,' and the way he stares into those mirrors all day long..." She scoffed. "But he never says anything about his schoolwork or his social life to anyone else. At least, that's what I've noticed."  
  
Kitty absorbed all this, then finally nodded and turned back to her food. "So we know that much about him." Rogue could almost see her adding it to her mental list. Kitty's current project. Well, at least it would get her mind off of computers for awhile. That late-night clicking of keys was *really* starting to get on Rogue's nerves. Hacking at all hours of the day and night...  
  
"Yup." She settled back into her lunch as well. "We know that much about him."  
  
***  
  
All were asleep in the Xavier Institute...all except one, that is. Kitty sat upright in her bed, back ramrod straight, thinking about her investigation into Quicksilver. What should be her next move? She'd gathered all the information she could from Rogue, who had finally gotten fed up with Kitty's questions in between classes and had told her to ask someone else, but who now? Who else knew anything about Pietro? Well, the Professor, for one, but he was always keeping secrets about people they knew from them; why should he reveal what he knew about Pietro to Kitty? She frowned, running her edge of her bedspread through her fingers. There was no one except Lance to ask, really. The other Brotherhood members had never really been that interested in talking to Kitty, but...what was she thinking, talking to *Lance* again? No way. No way, no how.  
  
No, she'd just have to get her information from another source. But what? Well, she did have those study halls this week...  
  
What was she thinking?! Spying?  
  
Not spying, just getting a little insider information. Kitty quirked her head in surprise as she realized she was actually nearly convinced to go ahead and do it. She set her jaw. After all, why shouldn't she? Nothing was really going to come of it, it was all in good fun - and why not take a risk? Those were hardly commonplace in her little world. Situating herself in bed for a good night's sleep, Kitty resolved to take this risk, unneccessary as it was, and spy on Pietro.  
  
  
***  
  
There you go. The first chapter. What do you think? I have the first bit of plot basically worked out, and I've decided to spend less time on the romance (but still plenty! About, say...four or five chapters, all about this size or larger), and more on the mushy stuff and rocky times to come. You know, fluff and hardships, any romance fanfic writer's dream...  
  
Sorry this chapter was so long in coming, but I wanted to write a longer one, and I just couldn't find the time to finish it. So, what we have is a third of a chapter, here. But it's cool, right? :D  
  
Now, what I need from you guys is feedback. I know there's not much here, but I want to know what you think of it. I've decided to make Rogue my third character for the story, as she came in second to Kitty (and besides, klucky thought I should do it). I could use some feedback about her, too. Do you want a second romance? If so, with whom (and I am *not* doing Gambit with her, that is *so* overdone as a second romance in a story)? Give me any thoughts or ideas you have, but remember people, *constructive* criticism is the key. I've noticed that if writers are insulted about their works, they tend to write less. So if you have something bad to say, try to break it gently.  
  
Now...give me your thoughts and opinions and I'll start to write the next chapter! :D 


	4. Chapter Two: Kitty makes a move

Sorry this chapter was so long in coming guys (school, you know...heh-heh), but I wanted to make it twice as long as the last one. Yay! My plot is moving! I must go rejoice! Enjoy the chapter. :D  
  
Disclaimer: Their characters, my Alternate Universe.   
  
***  
  
It was a wet day, cold and dreary, and the air in the cafeteria was laden with moisture. Yes, today was the day, all right. Kitty stood up, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and stretched. Her five minutes of waiting were up. As innocently as she could, she requested a pass to the bathroom, knowing full well she wouldn't be coming back that period. Barely opening the door, Kitty slipped quietly out into the halls of Bayville High. She knew from her experiences with Lance (ugh. Best not to think about him) that Pietro's third period class was Geometry, room 322. Heart pounding in her chest, she strode through the hallways until she reached her destination. She regarded the very idea that she was doing this with disbelief, but nevertheless, she darted a glance both ways down the hall to make sure it was clear, then phased into room 322's teacher's closet.   
  
"Oof," she said softly. She hadn't realized it would be *this* cramped. Luckily, though, there was only *one* layer of books covering the back of the closet, and with her slight figure, she could *just* squeeze herself enough to crouch in front of the circular peephole. There! The back of Pietro's head, there was no mistaking it. From her vantage point, she could see nearly everything going on in the classroom. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to see. It seemed that an exam was underway, and already Kitty was getting uncomfortable with her feet twisted that way. She let out a barely audible sigh and settled herself in. There she stayed, pondering the whole time whether she had left her sanity back home with her Mom and Dad.  
  
_All right! Movement!_ thought Kitty triumphantly. One half-hour with minimal activity from neither her or the class had her figuring that if she wasn't insane already, she would be soon. Squinting a bit, she watched the boy behind Pietro stand up and follow a messenger from the office out into the hall. Pietro was watching the kid stand up, too, and for one agonizing moment Kitty thought that Pietro's eyes had met her one and she was caught - but, no, his face continued to follow his classmate's movement.  
  
Class continued without further interruption, and the bell soon rang. That was when Kitty became aware that she would soon be late for her next class. She decided she had just better wait until everybody exited the classroom...but, wait, what about the teacher? She was just about to start panicking, but, suddenly, she was interrupted by Pietro's movements. He had spent a little extra time talking to the teacher about problem number fourteen b, and now the peeping tom in the closet witnessed something peculiar. Office-Boy had left his notebook and book on his desk when he had been called away from his test, and now Pietro had picked up the materials. Not thinking, Kitty phased out of the closet to follow him...directly into the busy hall! Luckily, no one was watching the bare wall between the bubbler and the door to the classroom, so she immediately turned and continued her game of spy.  
  
Dodge left, dodge right. She moved silently through the crowd, barely able to keep up with Pietro. He wasn't called "Speedy" for nothing, after all. Finally, she saw him reach his destination, just after the bell rang and the halls began to clear out again. Acting quickly, Kitty jumped into an adjacent empty classroom and phased into the air ventilation system just three feet from her stalkee's back. From there, she could hear every word said. Not that there was much to hear.  
  
"Here, Jason. You left these in Geometry."  
  
"Pietro?" It was a peculiar tone of surprise. "Oh, uh - thanks, I guess."  
  
"Here." There was a sound of mild shuffling, supposedly Pietro handing over the supplies. "Bye, Jason." Kitty moved herself forward in the cramped air shaft just enough to see Jason watching Pietro's back with that very same look of surprise Kitty herself had worn one strange morning...  
  
  
***  
  
  
It continued all through that week: during Cafeteria studies Kitty watched Pietro form several other random acts of kindness, and by Friday she had decided to do something about it. By this time she had acquired more interest in the situation than ever. In fact, if you were watching her carefully, you might notice those small signs of a crush - a slight blush here and there, the restraint of a nervous giggle when his name was spoken. Rogue, actually, was becoming increasingly suspicious, since Kitty's actions had recently become - well - very Un-Kitty-like. Finally, Rogue confronted her that Saturday in the room the two shared.  
  
"Admit it," she said to a figure brushing its hair.  
  
That hair was soon tossed over a shoulder with a sharp turn of the head. "Admit what?" Kitty said quickly turning instantly nervous.  
  
"You like him."  
  
"I don't like anybody! I mean - uh - what, who?"  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes and shifted her weight on the bed. "Oh, come on. You don't expect me to believe that after all that spying you don't like him?"  
  
"I wasn't spying!" Kitty proclaimed waveringly.  
  
The goth ignored this. "I mean, you must have been dedicated to do it *all* week..."  
  
Katherine Pryde flomped down face first onto her bed.  
  
"I'll take that as a 'yes'."  
  
"Mmmmph," was the reply.  
  
"So what are you going to do about it?"  
  
"Mmmph dummmph nmmmph."  
  
"Don't lie."  
  
"Mmmph-mmmph, mmph-mmmph, mmph tmmell you." A face emerged from the depths of the pillows. (Note: To all those who can't follow that, that was 'Okay, okay, I'll tell you.' The other one shall remain a mystery. ::mysterious face::) "I was gonna, um, let him know what I knew in gym class," she admitted reluctantly. Rogue raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm not gonna tell him I was spying on him!"  
  
"I thought you weren't spying on him."  
  
"Well, I was, okay!" It was a bit of a relief to have it out, now. She sighed. "And I was trying to think of a way to slow him down enough to - y'know - talk to me! But I can't, and now I'm stuck." She sighed again, heavily. Looking up at Rogue, she asked, "What do you think I should do?"  
  
This question was certainly startling to Rogue, who had always thought she would be the last person to come to for romantic advice. "What're you askin' me for? I don't know anything about this stuff," she voiced her thoughts.  
  
"I dunno," shrugged Kitty innocently. "I always thought you were the best at thinking things through." Here, her gaze intensified. "*Especially* at this kind of stuff. Not that it's that important or anything," she finished lamely.  
  
"Kitty, I think at this point it's pretty pointless to be tryin' to hide it." Kitty was defeated, and listened to Rogue speak frankly. "But I think that it might be a good idea for you to..." Rogue waved Kitty closer, and proceeded to explain her idea quietly.  
  
  
***  
  
(Note: I cut off my AU characters' conversations and thoughts quite a bit, don't I? If I haven't yet, you can be assured that I will. It's a favorite tactic of mine.)  
  
***  
  
  
Any and all people in the girls' locker room that day made a point of not going *anywhere* near Kitty Pryde. The determined set of her jaw could show anyone watching that she was in no mood for idle chit-chat (or active chit-chat, for that matter). At present, she was straightening up from tying her sneakers - *forcefully* tying her sneakers, that is. Whatever she was thinking about, she was resolute about it, that was for sure. Interested classmates' stares followed her as she strode out into the gymnasium - then, halfway to the bleachers, changed her posture entirely for a more normal stance, though at this point, students knew better than to bother her on her obvious mission: to sit next to Pietro Maximoff.   
  
Brittany Dinning watched the scene from the opposite side of the gym. She was automatically compiling a list of details about it for the steady stream of gossip she liked to keep flowing throughout the schoolday. Fluffing the sleeves of her pretty baby-pink peasant blouse, she listened to Stephanie blather about common knowledge around the school with a fraction of an ear, diverting most of her attention to the task at hand. Hmm. He seemed surprised to see her sitting next to him.  
  
Brittany filed this away.  
  
Ah. She didn't seem quite as confident as she had coming out of the locker room.  
  
Interesting...  
  
He was looking a little uncomfortable now, while she was looking triumphant.  
  
Noted and logged.  
  
The gym teachers calling for everyone to stop lounging on the bleachers and get their asses in the game? Why should Brittany Dinning have to bother with that? She had a forged note, anyway. It was her third "time of the month" this month. Stephanie continued blabbering in her ear.  
  
What's this? The pair was being sent back to wait out one of the two teams in the center was sent out. Their conversation continued. He was getting obnoxious now, but she persisted with whatever-it-was.  
  
Brittany almost imperceptibly raised an eyebrow.  
  
He was getting flustered now. Almost ready to say something, but - the people on the bleachers had been called in. The freshman girl was staring at him from the back of their team's side. She didn't see that player coming straight up to the goal, and -  
  
Oh. That must've hurt.  
  
Brittany turned to Stephanie abruptly. "Oh, I, like, know Steph, Duncan Matthew's is a *total* hottie...but have you, like, heard about this new thing between Kitty Pryde and Pietro Maximoff?"  
  
  
***  
  
  
Pietro had seen the whole thing happen. And, as bothered as he was by what she had said - well, bothered wasn't quite the right word, but it had gotten to him, all right - he felt bad that he had caused the whole accident. Trotting over to join the gathering circle around the injured teammate, Pietro found himself directly next to the gym teacher, who had been surrounded by students rubbing their ears at the sound of his whistle.  
  
"You!" the teacher selected randomly from the crowd, jabbing a finger at Pietro. "Take her to the nurse, will ya? We want to get this game moving."  
  
Kitty was hunched protectively over her ankle at the center of the group, biting her lip in pain. Almost totally letting his reflexes take over, Pietro stepped forward and squatted down beside her, getting close enough to be heard over the echo of voices in the gym. "Are you okay?" She nodded.  
  
Carefully, Pietro put a hand on Kitty's back and helped her shift her weight enough to get up. Soon she had her arm around his shoulders and most of her balance was reliant on him. Fighting a blush down, he helped her hobble out of the large room, which was already beginning to fill up with that usual sound of squeaking sneakers.  
  
"Why...did you do that?" Pietro asked as soon as they had cleared the double doors.  
  
"Do what?" she said evasively.  
  
"Hurt yourself. You were looking at me - don't try to deny it!" Pietro was letting his arrogant-act slip, but he was too absorbed in the situation to notice that his emotions were public knowledge.  
  
"Okay! So I, like, got a little distracted. So what?"  
  
"So why did you say that to me?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
"I'm very observant." She was being evasive again. They cleared another set of double doors, making steady progress to the nurse's office.  
  
"You've been spying on me, haven't you?" Jumped right to the quick.  
  
"I..." Pietro saw her falter, and grabbed his opportunity.  
  
"Ha! I knew I heard a noise by my locker!"  
  
"Damn squeaky tennis shoes," muttered Kitty.  
  
"If I may ask, *why* were you -" They opened the door to their destination.  
  
"Lemme guess," said the nurse drolly. "Twisted your ankle playing soccer."  
  
"Uh - well, sort of."  
  
"Come with me, please." Kitty shifted her weight to the nurse's shoulder. Just before she was led away, though, she whispered something in Pietro's ear, something that he later could almost *swear* that he...might have imagined...  
  
"I like you."  
  
And then it was Pietro's turn to wear that open-mouthed look as Kitty disappeared into the inner office.  
  
***  
  
Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha...I'm starting to really like this story. In the next chapter we will see what Pietro is thinking about all this. If you have any suggestions, please suggest them *nicely*, and I will do my best to include them.  
Sidenote: I *know* I avoided writing what Kitty said to him. You think I'm that good of an author? *I* have no idea what she said to him. :D  
Review, people, and you shall not be dissatisfied (I hope). :o) 


	5. Chapter Three: Mr Bobble is consulted :D

Hello, hello! Not much of a response for the last chapter, but...how about this one? Hmm?  
  
***  
  
Mr. Bobble was watching his owner pace around the room. His owner often paced, but this time it was different. This time his owner was muttering under his breath. Mr. Bobble just smiled and nodded.  
  
"Okay, Pietro, okay," murmured Mr. Bobble's owner. "So someone finally figured you out. Now what, huh? You didn't think anyone would ever figure you out, let alone Kitty. Okay, so you knew she was smart...very smart," here Mr. Bobble nodded and smiled at Pietro shaking his head distractedly, "but - but she was always such a ditz with Lance!" Pietro paused in his pacing to stare blankly at Mr. Bobble. Mr. Bobble smiled and nodded. "God, did I hate that," Pietro said, frustrated.  
  
The pacing was resumed, but this time at super-speed. Pietro didn't seem to notice. "Why did I even care so much? It wasn't like she had done anything nice for me then. But, geez, then Lance was so mean to her, and--"  
  
There was a pounding from downstairs, and Pietro stumbled in his steps, regaining his balance after swaying forward a bit. "Pietro, cut it out, will ya?!" came Todd's voice from the floor. "It's rainin' plaster down here!" Mr. Bobble smiled and nodded vigorously. Pietro ignored the interruption and went back to his super-speed pacing once more.  
  
"Why'd he have to go and break up with her like that, anyway? She looked so hurt..." He had been muttering again, but now Pietro stopped and stared blankly in Mr. Bobble's direction again. "I would've kicked Lance's ass if I hadn't restrained myself then," he said in realization.   
  
Pietro took up the pacing again, this time at normal speed. Mr. Bobble smiled and nodded at Pietro's brooding, until Pietro stopped. "She's the only one who ever bothered to look closely enough at me to see what's here," the white-haired youth told Mr. Bobble, astonished. "I mean, the only person who even *bothered* to look past this stupid, arrogant front I've put up to keep people out." If Mr. Bobble had been thinking, he would have thought about how very in touch with his emotions his owner seemed to be. But he wasn't thinking, so he just smiled and nodded.  
  
"All right, man, just calm down." Pietro started pacing once again. "Just--don't think like that until you find out more about her, okay? You don't know enough to really judge her like that...so how do you find out more about her?" That was when he stopped and noticed Mr. Bobble smiling and nodding. Under Pietro's gaze, Mr. Bobble slowly stopped his nodding. "I am one sick, twisted person," Pietro muttered to himself, still staring at Mr. Bobble. Mr. Bobble smiled, and nodded as his owner slowly turned back to his thoughts and began cooking up a plan to find out more about Kitty.  
  
***  
  
Author's note: If you can tell me who Mr. Bobble is, you get a cookie. You get an extra cookie if you can tell me his favorite color. ^_^  
  
***  
  
Dinner had been finished for an hour, and she had been up in her room for half an hour. Kitty closed her schoolbooks, packed away her bag neatly, crossed the room, and proceeded to bang her head against the wall. "What," thud, "was," thud, "I," thud, "*thinking*?!" Thud! The connection her head made with the wall sent Kitty stumbling backwards across the cluttered floor, and she gasped at the pain in her ankle as she tripped and tripped again, finally landing heavily on her bed with an "Oomph!" She flomped backwards, reached up, and covered her face with a pillow.  
  
"MMMMMMMMMPHHHHHHH!" She screamed in muffled pain into the light blue cloth. That finished, she scooted back into a proper position on the bed (causing no *small* discomfort to her injured ankle), and knitted her brow, thinking.   
  
_Was I too forward?_ Kitty projected at the ceiling. _Maybe I shouldn't have told him flat out like that. Maybe I should've just...hinted at it. Subtly. Made him guess._ She sighed, frustrated by her thoughts, and let them turn a bit. _Does he like me, too?_ wondered Kitty. _There's always a chance, right? I mean, there was that look he gave me...when I told him what I thought about him. Hmm, or maybe he just thinks that I should be put in a *mental hospital*!_ "Rrrgh!" cried Kitty aloud.  
  
"If you're that mad, maybe I should just come back later." Rogue, who had just entered the room, turned to leave.  
  
"No! No, stay, please?" Kitty looked at her friend with wide, pleading eyes, and Rogue cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"All right. But only since you asked so nicely." She crossed the few feet to her bed and sat down, letting the door click shut behind her. "So," she said, taking the tone of a therapist," are you going to tell me the *real* reason you were distracted in gym class, or are you going to let the 'airplane flying by' excuse stand?"  
  
Kitty shook her head and sighed. "It was Quicksilver."  
  
There was the slightest change in Rogue's posture that would have let anyone watching know that she was interested--*highly* interested. "You tell 'im?"  
  
"Yeah." Kitty bit a fingernail, looking worried. "I don't know, though. Well, see, what happened was, I talked to him on the bleachers, right? But then we were called into the game, and I had already told him, and...well," a faint smile appeared on her face, "I guess Pietro was the one who distracted me..." she drifted off, staring at the wall dreamily.  
  
"Hello, Earth to Kitty..."  
  
"Huh, what?"  
  
"I have a question," Rogue said seriously. She leveled a gaze at the lovesick freshman. "I'm wondering if maybe you shouldn't do this whole Brotherhood thing again? You remember where it got you last time, right?"  
  
Kitty's dreamy look immediately dissipated. "You're right. That whole thing with Lance..." she sighed again. "I'll have to think about it. I guess I shouldn't get tangled up with another guy from the opposite side, but..." A mischievous look came over her face. "...*Pietro.*" She waggled her eyebrows at Rogue, who, to Kitty's surprise, cracked a rare smile.  
  
"Hey, cut that out, you're gonna make me think of Pietro in that way, and I'll never sleep again," Rogue said, still smiling. Kitty giggled, and Rogue let out a chuckle, and before the two of them knew it, they had stayed up all night talking...  
  
It was just before she turned out her light that Kitty realized what a great friend she had in Rogue.  
  
***  
  
Running through her checklist in her mind again, Kitty walked carefully down the crowded hallway, eyelids at half-mast. _Fresh bandage?_ Her eyes flickered downward. _Check...Aspirin?_ She bit a nail, pausing in her thoughts. _Check...French notebook?_ She blinked in realization. _Don't have it. Damn, how am I gonna get to my locker in this crowd?_  
  
Fairly exhausted from the previous night, and injured to boot (no pun intended), Kitty was doing her very best to propel herself through school. Unfortunately, her very best still left her rushing toward her locker with three minutes left before class. In a valiant effort not to be late, she pushed her way through the crowds and made it to her locker..just as the bell rang. Sighing heavily, she shuffled the papers inside her locked around, searching for her missing notebook. _Ugh. This is gonna be a *long* day. When's my next break again?_  
  
***  
  
Pietro winced when he noticed Kitty's limp. His fault. He cursed himself mentally for sdoing such a thing--thought he realized on an intellectual level that the injury wasn't technically his fault, his emotions were making him think otherwise. That is to say, he felt unreasonably guilty for Kitty's pain, and was hoping pretty hard that he'd be able to distract himself from this matter with other things. _Okay,_ he reminded himself, _no acting speedy just to keep her out. Be yourself. Play it cool._ Yeah. Sure. Play it cool when he was a nervous wreck.  
  
Crossing the busy cafeteria, Pietro noticed how strangely tired Kitty was looking--probably his fault, too, his emotions chided him. _Shut up. I'm having enough trouble looking relatively normal as it is._  
  
He caught her in the middle of her painful-looking trek to the X-table. "Uh, hi, Kitty." _Oh, great show, Casanova._ "Uh, listen, I'm sorry about yesterday," he blurted out before she could say anything. She looked at him quizzically while he babble don. "Anyway, um, I figured, since you're sick and everything - well, hurt--um, and since it's basically my fault, you know, well...I made you this!" He stuck out his arm rather awkwardly. "It's chicken noodle soup," he smiled nervously at her, begging her silently to accept it, please take it, I made it for you...  
  
Taking the thermos gingerly from his hand, Kitty arranged it on top of her books carefully, and glanced up again--that was when their eyes caught each other, and before she was aware of it a lopsided grin, just as sloppy as his, was on her face. She was very aware of that peculiar melting sensation starting in her chest...they stayed that way for a full minute, smiling awkwardly and staring into each other's eyes, both too timidly hopeful to break the moment.  
  
"Ahem," Pietro cleared his throat, a blush rising in his cheeks as he shifted to stare fixedly at the floor. The red stood out vividly on his pale complexion. "Uh, listen, Kitty, I was wondering if maybe you, ah..." his voice grew quiet. "Maybe you wanted to go on a date with me?"  
  
He brought his eyes up to hers again, and that was what got her, that was the second when she knew there was not a flying chance in a shooting gallery that she was saying no. She knew she was grinning goofily again...and she was okay with that. "Uh, sure, Pietro," she blushed at his name, "um...what kind of date?" If it was possible, her blush grew even darked.  
  
Too wrung out by nerves to properly answer a question, Pietro stammered: "Uh, w-w - i-it's a surprise. Yeah. Heh," he smiled broadly. "Um, meet me at your locker after school?"  
  
"Sure. Sure. Um...I'll see you then, okay?" The normal sounds of the cafeteria rushed back into the duo's ears, and they waved goodbye quickly, each running off to their respective table.  
  
Rogue had realized long before Kitty reached the table, slowed down as she was with her sprained ankle, the all the other X-Men had been to absorbed in their own conversations to notice the quiet conversation Kitty and Pietro held near the center of the crowded room. Therefore, Rogue was the only one who greeted the foggy-eyed teenager.  
  
It took a few minutes of smiling whimsically into the checkerboard pattern of the thermos Pietro had bestowed upon her to restore her to a more--erm--talkative state.  
  
"OhmyGod, Rogue," Kitty blended the words together. "You would not, like, believe what just happened!"  
  
"I saw the whole thing from right here."  
  
"Yeah, he asked me on a date...oh!" Kitty turned suddenly to Rogue, apparently now aware of her surroundings. "Can you cover for me this afternoon?" She gave her friend a pleading look.  
  
Rogue looked at her stoically for a moment before rolling her eyes, and saying, "Yeah, all right. But don't say I never did anything for you!"  
  
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are, like, a *lifesaver*!" A quavering sigh escaped her lips, and at that moment she happened to glance in the direction of the Brotherhood table. Pietro was gazing at her with that dreamy look in his eyes--Rogue saw it, too. They laughed a bit as they watched him start and tuck into his lunch faster than any normal human was capable of doing.  
  
"So, Kitty...how was French today?"  
  
"Ah. Good. Thanks, Rogue, you're the best," Kitty realized that Rogue was just trying to distract. She didn't want her to be nervous for that afternoon, and boy oh boy, was Kitty grateful to her for changing the subject. "French, like, totally sucked, my notebook is M.I.A...."  
  
***  
  
YES! ::dances:: I finished it! I am exceptionally proud--especially of that little awkward scene they have. Pretty cool, right? Right? Well, I need your help yet again, oh readers. A list of things that you might help me with:  
  
1) What did you think of the chapter? Anything I should change? Any suggestions for the future?  
  
2) What should the title be? Remember, ongoing title contest? I still need help on this...  
  
and 3) It's the one you've been waiting for, folks...where do you want them to go on their date? I need them to go somewhere they can talk, but I can't think of anything. I need your assistance! I don't want any of this 'going to the movies' crap. This is *romance,* not a teenage make-out fic. So how 'bout it? Got any ideas for where they can talk?  
  
I LOVE YOU ALL!! ::blows kisses:: 


	6. Chapter Four: The DATE

Yayyyyyyy! I *love* you guys. You are my *heroes.* I will try and uphold to your wishes in this chapter, and since a walk in the park was suggested more than once, that's what we're going with. Don't be surprised if one of your ideas is included at some point.  
  
To Furry Elf: You're right! Mr. Bobble *is* one of those souvenirs that you can buy anyplace in the world! Well, I was thinking more of a nodder-type guy, you know...I can't believe you guys didn't get his favorite color, though! Mr. Bobble is a Yes-Man, right (he nods all the time, saying yes to what everyone says)? So what color are Yes-Men very fond of? Right! Brown! They're all Brown-nosers! Lol! Okay, lemme just sober up for a minute. ::straightens collar:: There. Got a fabulous chapter, here, just beggin' for reading. Behold!  
  
***  
  
Kitty had a knot of nervousness in her stomach by the last period of the day, and tapped her fingers nervously while watching the clock for the whole of the class. _Calm down,_ she told herself. _You *know* he's gonna be nice. So what are you worried about?_ Lifting her twitching fingers, she peered down at the notebook she had been drumming them on. There were grooves where each finger had hit the cover repeatedly. _Well, my science notebook, for one,_ she answered herself, sighing aloud.  
  
"Something bothering you, Miss Pryde?" Her head snapped up to see Mr. Robinson staring her down from the front of the room. Before she had time to think, her mouth had answered for her.  
  
"Yeah, actually. Like, I have a date after school today, and I'm not sure how it's going to go." _Wow. Where did *that* come from?_  
  
Taken aback, Mr. Robinson looked at her with his mouth agape for a moment, before returning to the lecture he had been giving.  
  
"Oh, homework," Kitty murmured to herself, whipping out her agenda just as the bell rang. She jotted down the assignment, briefly wondering if she would have time to finish it before her bedtime, then threw her stuff together and practically bolted out of the room. Shoving her way through the bustling end-of-the-day crowds, Kitty found that it was slightly harder to breathe than it had been in her science class. Silently, she cursed her nerves before turning the corner, and--  
  
Pietro was waiting at her locker for her, leaning against it, trying to look nonchalant--and failing terribly. Kitty's eyes crinkled a bit as she noticed how tense his posture was against the grey painted metal. Before crossing the hall to him, though, Kitty glanced left and right, making sure nobody she was really acquainted with remained to spread rumors about her. No one she knew was nearby, so she smiled and looked back to Pietro, drawn into his eyes. She darted across the hall.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Hi," he smiled broadly, if nervously. "So."  
  
"So," she chuckled just as nervously.  
  
"Uh, you want to get out of here?"  
  
She remained caught in his gaze a few more seconds before answering. "Uh, no, no." He looked hurt for an instant. "No, I have to, um, get my books. Excuse me," she gestured to her locker. He stepped aside quickly, and she did her combination distractedly, feeling his eyes on her skin. Finally, she managed to get the locker open and began digging around diligently for her ever elusive French notebook.  
  
"Whatcha looking for?" Kitty stopped. She had almost forgotten he was there, and she smiled at remembering his friendly presence.  
  
"My French notebook. It's been missing all day."  
  
"Oh, that?" He scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I know where that is. Just a second." Before she could blink, he had sped off at top speed, a rush of cool air hitting her face. Then he was back, handing her her French notebook. "Here. I, uh, found it yesterday. I guess I forgot to give it to you earlier. Um, just a second." He snatched it back out of her half-grip, flipped to a seemingly random page and tore a few sheets out, folding them up and sticking them into his pocket.  
  
"What were those?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Those papers." She was stuffing the notebook into her backpack, now. "What were they? Why'd you tear them out?"  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"Can I see them?"  
  
"...Sure." He pulled them back out of his pocket slowly, handing them over to her. "Heh. Um, guess I didn't know what I was doodling today..."  
  
Hastily, Kitty unfolded the wad of papers, and a grin slowly spread over her face. Hearts--hearts with her name inside them. And Pietro's. She started laughing, and after a few minutes, Pietro joined in. Their laughter echoed in the near-empty school, rising and falling. It took a bit for them to settle down, but by now the ice had most certainly been broken. "So are we gonna get out of here, or what?"  
  
Kitty slammed her locker. "Let's go."  
  
"Yeah. Let's blow this joint!" They headed for the building's exit, laughing once again.  
  
***  
  
When Rogue reached the X-Mansion she immediately pulled out her favorite book, heading for a quiet room to collapse with it. Unfortunately for her, that was just when everyone started asking questions, the most common one being: "Where's Kitty, anyway?"  
  
"She's working on a project at school," spoke Rogue above the chatter.  
  
It became an all-out inquisition, then.  
  
"What kind of project?" Scott bore down on her.  
  
"Is it a French project? Am I missing something in that class?"  
  
"She's at *school* instead of being *here*?"  
  
"Why didn't she come straight home?! She said she'd help me with my computer class homework."  
  
"How come she only told you?"  
  
"Guys!" Rogue managed to call above them. They hushed. "Just leave her alone, okay? It's not like she's started dealing drugs or anything." The group was abashed, and chose that moment to walk off silently, heads hung, with a couple of half-hearted "Bye, Rogue"s tossed in her direction on their way out. Sighing, she flomped into a chair nearby, opening her book to the page she had left off.  
  
"Hey, Stripes. Have you seen Half-Pint?"  
  
Rogue gave him a glare, then turned back to her book.  
  
***  
  
Wandering through the park, Pietro and Kitty spoke as if it was the most natural thing in the world. All awkwardness had vanished, as well as Kitty's normal verbal tics, and the conversation flowed. The talk turned from such things as hair--  
  
  
  
"So why's your hair white, anyway?" asked Kitty. "I've been wondering."  
  
"Hardly anyone cares enough to find that out." Kitty smiled at him encouragingly. "It's part of my mutation. I haven't figured out *quite* what it has to do with it, but I know for sure that the X-gene is affecting my hair color."  
  
"What color would your hair be otherwise?"  
  
"Brown," he grinned. "I have a theory about the white, though." Kitty nodded to show she was interested in hearing it. "I figure, I'm really pale and I have white hair, I go really fast--it's to protect me from the sun, you know? I'd be really hot otherwise. It's like my whole's body's geared towards being really fast. I think if I had darker skin and hair I'd probably overheat if I used my power."  
  
"Wow. Yeah, I think that's it," she nodded.  
  
"So what about you," he nudged her playfully. "Does your power force your to wear your hair in a ponytail?"  
  
She shoved him back, giggling. "No! As a matter of fact, I happen to *like* wearing my hair like that."  
  
"I don't think I've ever really seen your hair down," he said, thoughtfully.  
  
"So?"  
  
"So?" he mimicked. "Can I?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Can I see your hair down? Please?"  
  
"Fine. But I really think it looks better in the ponytail," she said reluctantly, sighing and pulling her hair band loose of her hair. Once the elastic was free her hair flowed out of its topknot and fell to her shoulders. She shrugged at Pietro. "It's gonna get tangled this way, though."  
  
"There are a lot of other girls who wear their hair down, and it doesn't hurt them." Kitty cocked an eyebrow. "And besides. I like it." He smiled. "Wear it down for me?"  
  
She grinned. "Sure."  
  
  
  
--and clothes--  
  
  
  
"Are you kidding?! I *love* your capris." He looked seriously at her before they both burst out laughing. "No, really," he said, chortling. "I do."  
  
"I believe you, I believe you," she assured him, recovering from her laughter. "I just thought maybe it was time for a change."  
  
"No, you look great with the capris. I couldn't imagine you wearing anything else."  
  
"The same for you."  
  
"What, I look great in capris?" He fluttered his eyelashes, laughing again. "Why, thank you," he said, pitching his voice higher.  
  
"No!" She cracked up. "No. I *meant* you look good in what you're wearing. I especially like your shirt. Makes you look debonair." Despite himself, Pietro blushed.  
  
  
  
--to friends--  
  
  
  
"--and I just think it was really great of her to cover for me, you know? It's not like Jean would bother with anything like that. She's way too self-absorbed, and besides--she's too busy leading on about three boys at once to spare the time to help a friend out."  
  
Pietro raised his eyebrows. "I gotta tell you, I agree with that. Both things. From what I've seen of Rogue, from when she was in the Brotherhood--it was, what? A week, tops. Even that, though, and I could tell she was not really that mean. In fact, she went out of her way to help out around the house a couple of times. And from what I've seen of Jean-- well, let's just say she's boy-crazy and leave it at that." Kitty giggled.  
  
  
  
--until finally the conversation collapsed into silliness.  
  
  
  
"And then Todd came hopping up and he was all like," Pietro started hopping as they walked, doing Todd to a tee, "'I wanna see, yo, I wanna see what a loser he is,' and we were all laughing so hard, and then Fred was going--" here Pietro puffed out his cheeks and held his arms away from his body, curved, and made an expression of utter shock "--on the floor, like he *hadn't* *expected* to fall down the stairs--"  
  
"Stop it," Kitty gasped amid giggles, "stop it! You're killing me!" She doubled over in laughter, barely able to keep her step on the path.  
  
"--even though he had just dropped the banana peel in front of his *own* *feet,*" Pietro continued. "And then Lance came in and he was like--" Pietro stopped, right there, just about to do his Lance impression, when he saw the look on Kitty's face. There was a long pause as she stared sullenly at the ground as it went past her moving feet. Trying not to sound insanely jealous and over-protective as he did so, Pietro finally asked, "He really hurt you, didn't he? He really meant something to you?"  
  
"It was like he had never even cared." She had stopped in her tracks, and her voice was muted. Pietro watched silently as she brought her hand to her face, covered by a curtain of hair, and her fingers came away wet. She sniffled quietly. "I thought, the whole time we were together, that I had meant something to him, that I wasn't just," she muffled her sob, "just some girl who happened to go with him for awhile. I mean, we've known each other since we were kids! That should mean something, right?" Her hair fell away from her face as she looked up, eyes shining, at Pietro. "Right?"  
  
He felt like his heart had been torn out and ripped in two. Later, when he trusted himself to say more than a few words, he would be able to rage at Lance if he felt the need, but for now he just slipped a comforting arm around Kitty. "Hey," he said softly. "It's not so bad." There was really nothing else to say, after that. Guiding Kitty to a bench, Pietro sat down with her and let her wrap her arms around his midsection, for comfort. He rubbed her back as she held back tears and pulled him a little closer.  
  
So focused, were they, on each other, that they didn't notice at first the figure standing a few sparse trees away from them. Pietro finally happened to glance up, but it still took him a few seconds to spot him. "Kitty."  
  
"Hmm?" She took a few shuddering breaths and straightened up, wiping away a line of tears.  
  
"Look," he gestured. Todd disappeared behind a tree.  
  
"Uh-oh."  
  
"Yeah. This could be trouble." They watched him hop away among the foliage, with only one glance back at them. "What if he tells somebody?"  
  
"He won't, right? What is there to tell? What could he get out of it, anyway, if he told?" Kitty was in the process of cleaning herself up.  
  
"I don't know. I'll talk to him tonight, I guess. Hey," he changed his tone. "You okay now?"  
  
"Yeah," she gave a watery laugh. "Sorry about that. I just--haven't really had anybody to talk to, besides Rogue. Sorry," she said again.  
  
"Don't be sorry," he said. "Be better." He smiled, standing up and offering her a hand, which she pulled herself up by. "Okay?"  
  
"Okay," she grinned.  
  
"Come on," he pulled her down the path, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "I'll buy you some ice cream."  
  
***  
  
::sobs openly:: Wa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!! ::sniffles:: Dammit! It's just so sad, and crud! Okay, suspense, right? Right.  
  
What's going to happen with Todd? Will he tell people about this secret romance? Will Pietro and Kitty be forbidden to see each other after only *one* *date*? And, most importantly, WILL KITTY ORDER THE FUDGE RIPPLE?! All these things and more are what you can look forward to in the next chapter (or chap*ters*), if you decide to review. So REVIEW! MAKE MY MUSE HAPPY! ...whee! 


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